Rotary into reciprocating rectilinear motion



'UNrTED sTArns PATENT orrion.

ALBERT BROUGHTON, OF MIONE', NEV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND A. LINDSAY,

OF SAME PLAGE.

CONVERTING ROTARY INTO RECIPROCATING RECTILINEAR MOTION.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 25,465, dated September 13, 1859.

T 0 all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALBERT BRoUGHToN, of Malone, in the county of Franklin and State of New York, have invented a new and. useful Improvement in Means for Converting Rotary into Reciprocating Rectilinear Motion; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure l, is a vertical sectional view of a stationary framing containing a reciprocating carriage and its rotary driving shaft illustrating my invention. Fig. 2, is a plan of the saine. Fig. 3, is a transverse vert-ical section of the saine. Fig. 4t, is a plan of part of the carriage and the pinion shaft. Fig. 5, is a plan on a larger scale of the upper ournal box of the pinion shaft.

VSimilar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

My invention consists in combining two 'opposite toothed racks with a single inter# posed rotating pinion for the purpose of converting rotary into reciprocating rectilinear motion, by so applying the shaft of the pinion in combination with a divided `journal box having two bearings closed by springs, and so applying means of shifting the pinion shaft from one bearing to the other of the journal box, that the pinion is made to gear with the two racks alternately and so caused, by its revolution, to give the carriage or device to which the said racks are attached, a movement back and forth.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, is the stationary framing, containing ways a, a, to receive and guide the carriage B, to which reciprocating motion is to be imparted.

C, O', are the two toothed racks arranged opposite to and parallel with each other and with the ways a, a, and attached securely to the carriage B.

I), is the pinion which operates upon the racks C, C', to produce the reciprocating motion of the carriage, the external diameter of said pinion being less than the distance between the points of the teeth of one rack and the points of those of the other. The said pinion is fast upon a shaft E, which stands up perpendicularlyjor nearly so to and between the racks. The lower journal of the said shaft is fitted in a bearing in a rocker Z9, which allows it the necessary swinging movement to transfer the pinion from one rack to the other, and the upper journal is received in one or other of the two bearings 0, o', in the divided journal box F, F', which is arranged above the racks C, O', and divided in a plane at right angles to the racks, said division extending directly through the centers of both bearings. rIhe two portions F, and F', of the divided journal box. are carried each by one of two strong springs Gr, Gr', which are so secured to inwardly projecting parts A', A', of the framing that they act upon the two portions to force them together and close the bearings c, c'. The faces of the two parts F, F', of the journal box are so cut away between the two bearings as to make a slot like opening d, Figs. 2 and 5, between the latter of a width about equal to half the diameter of the bearings, the object of such opening (Z, being to obviate the necessity of springing apart the two parts of the journal box a distance equal to the whole diameter of the journal to permit the journal to pass from one bearing into the other. The bearings o, c', are so arranged that when the ournal is in c, the pinion is in gear with the rack C, and when the journal is in c', the pinion is in gear with the rack C'.

H, is a long arm attached to one end of the framing by a pin c, upon which it is capable of vibrating, and embracing the pinion shaft E. This arm is for preventing the vibration of the shaft in a direction parallel with the racks, and thereby preventing any tendency to force open the journal box; but it permits the necessary vibration of the shaft to transfer its journal from one bearing to the other. Y

I, I', are the contrivances for causing the pinion D, to be shifted from one rack to the other; I, causing it to be shifted from O', to C, and I', causing it to be shifted from C, to C. I, consists of a stiff spring attached to a plate J, which is arranged between the racks C, C', and bolted to the carriage B, by a bolt f, and I', consists of a toothed plate arranged like J, between the racks and bolted to the framing by a bolt f'. A spring, like I, or toothed plate, like I', may be used at both ends of the carriage, and each is rendered capable of being adjusted nearer to or farther from the end of the carriage for the purpose of producing a. longer or shorter stroke thereof, by providing slots g, g, one near each end of the carriage to permit the shifting of the bolts f, f. An additional security is provided for the toothed plate I, in the sha e of a spring stop h, (Fig. 3) which locks in the rack C.

K, isa driving shaft working in xed bearings on the framing A, and carrying a pinion L, gearing with and driving a spur gear M, on the shaft E, for the purpose of producing the rotary motion of the latter shaft and its pinion D.

The'cperation of the pinion and racks is as follows, the revolution of the pinion being in the direction of the arrow shown in Figs. 3 and 4L, When the upper journal of the shaft is in the bearing C, and the pinion D, in gear with the rack G, the carriage B, moves in the direction of the arrow shown on the rack C, in Fig. 3; but as soon as the toothed plate I, arrives at the pinion and presents the teeth a, a, of the plate I, against the pinion, the latter by engaging with these teeth is caused to be drawn over toward the rack C, and so draws the upper journal of its shaft over from the bearing c, through the slot cl,-which is opened by the pressure of the shaft-to the bearing c', and brings the pinion into gear with the rack C, and the motion of the carriage is reversed. When the spring I, arrives at the pinion shaft, it is pressed aside by the continued movement of the pinion shaft, by means of a roller p, on the said shaft until it acquires force enough to push the shaft out of the bearing 0, through the slot d, and into the bearing c, and the movement of the carriage is again reversed.

I prefer generally the toothed plate I, to the spring I, for shifting the pinion from one rack to the other, as its action is more positive7 always taking place at the same point in the movement of the carriage, whereas the spring may operate a little earlier or later according as the speed at which the carriage is moving is greater or less and so produce a varying length of movement of the carriage. The spring also requires the upper journal of the shaft to be as nearly as possible double the depth of the cogs of the racks, while with the toothed plate the size of the journal is not so material.

My improvement operates equally well in all positions and is applicable With equal advantages to all machines in which yrotary motion is converted into reciprocating recti linear motion, the racks working horizontally or vertically and' the pinion shaft either vertically or horizontally and it makes a. contrivance for the purpose, which combines simplicity and certainty of action in a greater degree than any other contrivance for the purpose. In machines where a slow forward movement and a rapid backward movement is required, as in iron planers or stone dressing machines a larger and smaller pinion may be used close together, one gearing in one rack and the other in the opposite one, but in this case the racks will require to be in different planes to gear with the pinions.Y

Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is*- The combination of the divided journal box F, F, containing two bearings and closed by springs G, G, and the spring I, ortoothed plate I', with the vibrating pinion shaft E, the Whole operating substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

ALBERT BROUGHTON. Titnesses H. A. TAYLOR, F. T. HEATH. 

